Family reunions are the greatest...
Illustration
Family reunions are the greatest/awfullest events on the face of the planet. Once you get past the hugs and kisses, the "aren't you getting tall, though?" and the "Oh, this can't be our little Bessie!" routines, and can taste Grandma's blackberry jam spice cake and Uncle Roger's secret recipe barbecue sauce, you can relax and just soak up the homefolk, catch up on gossip, play games with your cousins, or whatever your favorite family activities are. But have you noticed? -- There is one constant at family gatherings: The Telling of the Family Stories. There's the one about Uncle Ben and the Bear, with its combination of hair-
raising tension and laughter; the one about Great-grandmother and the Spanish influenza (which teaches us about facing adversity); and the one about good ol' Duke and the skunk (in which we learn how to get the smell out with tomato juice). Each of these stories has its own special rhythm, its own setting in our family. Some of them get told every time we come together. Some are saved for special times, like baptisms or funerals. Some of them are funny, some sad, some scary, some eerie (like the one about the cat that cried all night the night Great-grandfather died). But all of them serve to tell us some basic things we need to remember: who we are, where we come from, how our people cope with life, and what is expected of us. These stories shape our vision of ourselves, and our hope for the future, as well as give us the history of our clan, our religion and our national heritage. And the telling of them is what creates our community. -- Herrmann
raising tension and laughter; the one about Great-grandmother and the Spanish influenza (which teaches us about facing adversity); and the one about good ol' Duke and the skunk (in which we learn how to get the smell out with tomato juice). Each of these stories has its own special rhythm, its own setting in our family. Some of them get told every time we come together. Some are saved for special times, like baptisms or funerals. Some of them are funny, some sad, some scary, some eerie (like the one about the cat that cried all night the night Great-grandfather died). But all of them serve to tell us some basic things we need to remember: who we are, where we come from, how our people cope with life, and what is expected of us. These stories shape our vision of ourselves, and our hope for the future, as well as give us the history of our clan, our religion and our national heritage. And the telling of them is what creates our community. -- Herrmann
